Revolution in Military Affairs

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The military concept of Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) is a theory about the future of warfare, often connected to technological and organizational recommendations for change in the United States military and others. Especially tied to modern information, communications, and space technology, RMA is often linked to current discussions under the label of Transformation and total systems integration in the United States military.

1 Interested Nations
2 Origins
3 Areas of focus
4 Further reading
5 External links

[edit] Interested Nations

While the original theorizing about RMA was largely done within the American military and American think tanks like the Rand Corporation, other nations are exploring similar shifts in organization and technology. Interest in RMA and the structure of future United States forces is strong within the People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army and incorporated to current Chinese strategic thinking. Many other militaries have researched and considered RMA as an organizational concept, including Canada, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Republic of China, India, and Russia. However, the infrastructure and investment demands are very expensive for developing countries and nations unwilling to invest substantial sums in defense.

[edit] Origins

Renewed interest was placed on RMA theory and practice after what many saw as a stunning, one-sided victory by the United States in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. US dominance through superior satellite, weapons-guiding, and communications technology emphasized the enormous relative power of US through technological advances, even against an Iraqi military that was by no means an insignificant rival. After the Kosovo War where the United States did not lose a single life, others suggested that war had become too sanitized, creating an almost Virtual War. Furthermore, US difficulties capturing Osama Bin Laden and problems in the US occupation of Iraq have caused some to question RMA's build-up as a military nirvana. US foes may increasingly resort to asymmetrical warfare to counter the advantages of RMA.

[edit] Areas of focus

One of the central problems in understanding the current debate over RMA is due to many theorists' use of the term as referring to the revolutionary technology itself, which is the driving force of change. Concurrently, other theorists tend to use the term as referring to revolutionary adaptations by military organisations that may be necessary to deal with the changes in technology. Other theorist place RMA more closely inside the specific political and economic context of globalization and the end of the Cold War.

When reviewing the gamut of theories, three fundamental versions of Revolution in Military Affairs come to the forefront. The first perspective focuses primarily upon changes in the nation-state and the role of an organised military in using force. This approach highlights the political, social, and economic factors worldwide, which might require a completely different type of military and organisational structure to apply force in the future. Author's such as RAND's Sean J. A. Edwards (advocate of BattleSwarm tactics)(Swarming (Military)), Carl H. Builder and Lt. Col. Ralph Peters (Ret.) emphasize:

the decline of the nation state
the nature of the emerging international order
the different types of forces needed in the near-future.

The second perspective—most commonly assigned the term RMA—highlights the evolution of weapons technology, information technology, Military organization, and military doctrine among advanced powers. This "System of Systems" perspective on RMA has been ardently supported by Admiral William Owens, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who identifies three overlapping areas for force assets. These are:

intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
command, control, communications and intelligence processing (See: Network-centric warfare)
precision force.

Advanced versions of RMA incorporate other sophisticated technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, nanotechnology, robotics, and biotechnology. Recently, the RMA debate focussed on Network-centric warfare which is a doctrine that aims to connect all troops on the battlefield.

Finally, the third concept is that a "true" revolution in military affairs has not yet occurred or is unlikely to. Authors such as Michael O’Hanlon and Frederick Kagan, point to the fact much of the technology and weapons systems ascribed to the contemporary RMA were in development long before 1991 and the flashy Internet/information technology boom. Several critics point out that a "revolution" within the military ranks might carry detrimental consequences, produce severe economic strain, and ultimately prove counterproductive. Such authors tend to profess a much more gradual "evolution" in military affairs, as opposed a rapid revolution.

[edit] Further reading

Alexander, John B., Future War: Non-Lethal Weapons in Twenty-First-Century Warfare, New York, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin, 1999 ISBN 0-312-26739-8
Arquilla, John and David F. Ronfeldt (eds.), In Athena's Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, Santa Monica, CA, RAND Corporation, 1997 ISBN 0-8330-2514-7
Barnett, Thomas P.M., The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century, New York & London, Penguin, 2004 ISBN 0-399-15175-3
Broad, William, Judith Miller and Stephen Engelberg, Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War, New York, Simon & Schuster, 2001 ISBN 0-684-87159-9
Edwards, Sean A. J., Swarming on the Battlefield: Past, Present, and Future, Palo Alto, CA, RAND Research, 2000 ISBN 0-8330-2779-4
Gongora, Thierry and Harald von Riekhoff (eds.), Toward a Revolution in Military Affairs?: Defense and Security at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century, Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 2000 ISBN 0-313-31037-8
Gray, Colin S., Strategy for Chaos: Revolutions in Military Affairs and The Evidence of History, London, Frank Cass, 2004 ISBN 0-7146-8483-X
Hardt, Michael and Antonio Negri, Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, Hamish Hamilton, 2005 ISBN 0-241-14240-7
Kagan, Donald and Frederick W. Kagan, While America Sleeps: Self-Delusion, Military Weakness and the Threat to Peace Today, New York, St. Martin's Griffin, 2000 ISBN 0-312-28374-1
Krames, Jeffrey A., The Rumsfeld Way, New York & Chicago, McGraw-Hill, 2002 ISBN 0-07-140641-7
Landa, Manuel de, War in the Age of Intelligent Machines, New York, Zone Books, 1991 ISBN 0-942299-76-0
Rumsfeld, Donald H., Transforming the Military, in: Foreign Affairs, vol. 81, No. 3, May/June, 2002, pp. 20-32.
Ugtoff, Victor (ed.), The Coming Crisis: Nuclear Proliferation, U.S. Interests, and World Order, Cambridge & London, The MIT Press, 2000 ISBN 0-262-71005-6
Cohen, Eliot A. 1995. Come the Revolution. National Review, July 31, 26+.